The Socialist Agenda: "'Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you,' . The politician said, 'We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.' "

It wasn't Lenin.
It wasn't Stalin.
It wasn't even Gorbachev in the bad old days.

That quote would be from Hillary herself, helping to promote Barbara Boxer, and of course her hubby's lie-ography.

Pilgrim's Progress? - John Kerry's dubious approach to religion. By Steven Waldman
One more from Slate. Love this opening quote:
As you may already know, one of America's two political parties is extremely religious. Sixty-one percent of this party's voters say they pray daily or more often. An astounding 92 percent of them believe in life after death. And there's a hard-core subgroup in this party of super-religious Christian zealots. Very conservative on gay marriage, half of the members of this subgroup believe Bush uses too little religious rhetoric, and 51 percent of them believe God gave Israel to the Jews and that its existence fulfills the prophecy about the second coming of Jesus.

Liberals could read these statistics and sneer about "those silly Republicans" were it not for the fact that it's the Democrats who hold these beliefs. And the abovementioned ultrareligious subgroup is not the so-called "Religious Right" but rather the so-called "African-Americans."

And that's just the start. Great look at Mr. Kerry's, ahem, religion problem.

Unfairenheit 9/11 - The lies of Michael Moore. By Christopher Hitchens
This critique by Christopher Hitchens is worth a long, slow perusal, like a nice hot shower after a roll in the crap of Michael Moore....

Jayna Davis - From Oklahoma City to the Middle East
I'm currently reading a staggering book, The Third Terrorist, by Jayna Davis.
Here's her website. Worth looking at frequently.

The High Cost of Liberal Media Bias

Governments True Role in Space
Great look at how government, limited government, can help lead the way into space.

Dales' Electoral College Breakdown 2004
A great blog, with links to each state's electoral count. I'll put it on the Perma links to the right.

Ray Bradbury Wants His Title Back

What A Day In History
Historians may well look back on 6/21/04 as one of the most momentous days in history. For the first time, humans left the planet's atmosphere, unconstrained by either gravity or government. The promise of space is beckoning once again.

A Looming Bombshell
The Catholic Bishops are meeting in Colorado...The clock is ticking for Democratic Politicians who claim to be Catholic.

Reporting For The Enemy
A major press conference occurred at the American Enterprise Institute, with graphic videos and pictures of torture and abuse.
Only 4 or 5 reporters showed up.
Here's a profound quote:

Terrorism is sometimes called asymmetric warfare — America had to adjust to new tactics to deal with small bands of terrorists who were able to turn our airplanes into weapons against us. Now it turns out that we also face asymmetric propaganda — where the terrorists gain a p.r. advantage precisely because what they do is so horrific that our media aren't able to deal with it.

The U.S. military hasn't figured out a strategic way to deal with this problem.

But neither has the press.

Media analysts like Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler admit it sounds "sanctimonious" to justify publishing prison abuse photos — but not al Qaeda beheading videos — in the name of showing "the reality of war." But that is just what he did.

AEI spokeswoman Veronique Rodman, puzzled by the minimal interest in the Saddam torture video, is sure that if it was a video of equally horrific torture committed by U.S. troops, the press would find ways to show or report it.

Reporters have to face up to the fact that right now, if we highlight the wrongs that Americans commit but not — out of squeamishness — the far worse horrors committed by others, we become propaganda tools for the other side.

A Portrait of a Pickle Walking Through History
I'm still nursing some bum fingers, but had to comment on this. After President Bush praised Mr. Clinton, the former President said that he "felt like a pickle walking through history."

I heard him say it every hour on the hour from the local radio station, and a few times at the half hour. Apparently, it was the most profound thing he had to say as he and Hillary's portraits were unveiled.

Just one question...

Would somebody, anybody, PLEASE explain to me what the heck THAT sentence MEANS!?!?!?!?

I mean, everyone laughed. Must've gotten the joke. So, what did I miss?

It strikes me as the most inane, stupid remark to come from Clinton's mouth since he gave us the meaning of "is."

But since the Media present all laughed, they must have understood the joke. Or maybe its just that they still hang on Clinton's every word.....

Poynter Online - The Blog-Only News Diet
Interesting look at using blogs as your primary news source.

Lech Walesa On Reagan
The death of Reagan is still too fresh for me to write about. Also, I'm fighting some pain in my fingers and wrists, made worse by too much typing.
My own view of The Great Communicator is close to Lech Walesa's:

GDANSK, Poland--When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can't be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989.

I too, see Mr. Reagan in personal terms. More about this in coming days....

I'm not sure you could find a more symbolic picture than this: Gorbachev honoring Reagan.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- Five days of Reagan funeral events
The Schedule of Events for this week.

Tampico and Dixon Illinois: Where I will Be This Weekend
The birthplace and boyhood home of Mr. Reagan seem like appropriate places to be the Friday after the funeral. Me, the Mrs, the kids, and a couple of their friends will be found there this Sunday. I suspect we won't be alone.

Reagan on Religion in America: "I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us, it makes us strong. You know, if we look back through history to all those great civilizations, those great nations that rose up to even world dominance and then deteriorated, declined, and fell, we find they all had one thing in common. One of the significant forerunners of their fall was their turning away from their God or gods.
Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. "

Ronald Reagan 1984

Here is Mr. Reagan giving this remarkable speech.

Reagan's Economic Legacy
It won't take long for Liberals to attack the memory of Mr. Reagan.
It's a typical knee jerk liberal reaction, but not based on the facts. Some nights, I just ignore those reactions, but NOT this night, with Mr. Reagan's body not even cold. So, at the risk of boring you with numbers, an excerpt from an article by Peter Sperry from 2001:

HOW DID REAGAN'S POLICIES AFFECT ECONOMIC GROWTH?

Despite the steep recession in 1982--brought on by tight money policies that were instituted to squeeze out the historic inflation level of the late 1970s--by 1983, the Reagan policies of reducing taxes, spending, regulation, and inflation were in place. The result was unprecedented economic growth:

*

This economic boom lasted 92 months without a recession, from November 1982 to July 1990, the longest period of sustained growth during peacetime and the second-longest period of sustained growth in U.S. history. The growth in the economy lasted more than twice as long as the average period of expansions since World War II.10
*

The American economy grew by about one-third in real inflation-adjusted terms. This was the equivalent of adding the entire economy of East and West Germany or two-thirds of Japan's economy to the U.S. economy.11
* From 1950 to 1973, real economic growth in the U.S. economy averaged 3.6 percent per year. From 1973 to 1982, it averaged only 1.6 percent. The Reagan economic boom restored the more usual growth rate as the economy averaged 3.5 percent in real growth from the beginning of 1983 to the end of 1990.12

HOW DID REAGAN'S POLICIES AFFECT THE FEDERAL TAX BURDEN?

Perhaps the greatest myth concerning the 1980s is that Ronald Reagan slashed taxes so dramatically for the rich that they no longer have paid their fair share. The flaw in this myth is that it mixes tax rates with taxes actually paid and ignores the real trend of taxation:

*

In 1991, after the Reagan rate cuts were well in place, the top 1 percent of taxpayers in income paid 25 percent of all income taxes; the top 5 percent paid 43 percent; and the bottom 50 percent paid only 5 percent.13 To suggest that this distribution is unfair because it is too easy on upper-income groups is nothing less than absurd.
*

The proportion of total income taxes paid by the top 1 percent rose sharply under President Reagan, from 18 percent in 1981 to 28 percent in 1988.14
*

Average effective income tax rates were cut even more for lower-income groups than for higher-income groups. While the average effective tax rate for the top 1 percent fell by 30 percent between 1980 and 1992, and by 35 percent for the top 20 percent of income earners, it fell by 44 percent for the second-highest quintile, 46 percent for the middle quintile, 64 percent for the second-lowest quintile, and 263 percent for the bottom quintile.15
* These reductions for the lowest-income groups were so large because President Reagan doubled the personal exemption, increased the standard deduction, and tripled the earned income tax credit (EITC), which provides net cash for single-parent families with children at the lowest income levels. These changes eliminated income tax liability altogether for over 4 million lower-income families.16

Critics often add in the Social Security payroll tax and argue that the total federal tax burden shifted more to lower-income groups and away from upper-income groups; but President Reagan's changes were in the income tax, not in the Social Security payroll tax. The payroll tax was imposed by proponents of big government over the past 50 years, and it is they, not Ronald Reagan, who should be held accountable for its distributional effects.

Nevertheless, even if one counts the Social Security payroll tax, the share of total federal taxes increased between 1980 and 1989 for the following groups:

*

For the top 1 percent of taxpayers, from 12.9 percent in 1980 to 15.4 percent in 1989;
*

For the top 5 percent of taxpayers, from 27.3 percent in 1980 to 30.4 percent in 1989; and
* For the top 20 percent of taxpayers, from 56.1 percent in 1980 to 58.6 percent in 1989.

On the other hand, the share of total federal taxes, if one includes the Social Security payroll tax, declined for four groups:

*

For the second-highest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 22.2 percent in 1980 to 20.8 percent in 1989;
*

For the middle 20 percent of taxpayers, from 13.2 percent in 1980 to 12.5 percent in 1989;
*

For the second-lowest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 6.9 percent in 1980 to 6.4 percent in 1989; and
* For the lowest 20 percent of taxpayers, from 1.6 percent in 1980 to 1.5 percent in 1989.17

CONCLUSION

No matter how advocates of big government try to rewrite history, Ronald Reagan's record of fiscal responsibility continues to stand as the most successful economic policy of the 20th century. His tax reforms triggered an economic expansion that continues to this day. His investments in national security ended the Cold War and made possible the subsequent defense spending reductions that are largely responsible for the current federal surpluses. His efforts to restrain the expansion of federal government helped to limit the growth of domestic spending.

If Reagan's critics had been willing to work with him to limit domestic spending even further and to control the growth of entitlements, the budget would have been balanced five to ten years sooner and without the massive tax increase imposed in 1993. Today, Members of Congress from across the political spectrum should stand on the evidence and defend the Reagan record.

To the extent that President Bush's proposals mirror those of Ronald Reagan, his plan should be a welcome strategy to lower the tax burden on Americans and to make the system more responsible. If the advocates of big government in Congress cooperate with President Bush rather than merely continuing to fund obsolete, wasteful, and redundant programs, there is no limit to the prosperity that Americans can generate.

Peter Sperry is the Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Michael Moore Hates America.com
A fun site, alot more informative (and truthful) than anything to come out of Mr. Moore's mouth.

Our Own Worst Enemy
From Victor Davis Hanson

My friends, we live in a world that is lit by lightning. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures, and transcends time.

History is a ribbon, always unfurling; history is a journey. And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us. We stand together again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy -- or we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn't gotten so cold. Now we are standing inside this symbol of our democracy. Now we hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge; a lonely President paces the darkened halls, and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union; the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other; a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air.

It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. That's our heritage; that is our song. We sing it still. For all our problems, our differences, we are together as of old, as we raise our voices to the God who is the Author of this most tender music. And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound -- sound in unity, affection, and love -- one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Ronald Wilson Reagan, from his 2nd Inaugural Address.
Goodbye Mr President. I will miss you.

This Victory for Dems in South Dakota May Not Be So Victorious
The Republican was down 29 points in February. The Dem won 51-49. We'll see how things play out in November......

A New Letter From Iraq:The Green Side
Sad that the media isn't reporting these things. Thank God for the Internet, or we'd be stuck with folks like, oh say, Mike Wallace.

Mike Wallace: Speaking of Bias
Not much doubt how Mike Wallace answered the Pew Research Poll.

The Pew Media Survey
I'm a little late posting this. Great survey from The Pew Research Center for People and The Press. Here's my favorite part:
Journalists at national and local news organizations are notably different from the general public in their ideology and attitudes toward political and social issues. Most national and local journalists, as well as a plurality of Americans (41%), describe themselves as political moderates. But news people ­ especially national journalists ­ are more liberal, and far less conservative, than the general public.

Ya think? Not that there's a bias or anything......

Private Spacecraft's Inaugural Launch Set for June 21
This date may very well go down in history as the date the Space Age really began. It's a big, big deal.

An Important Speech from The Air Force Academy

Like the Second World War, our present conflict began with a ruthless, surprise attack on the United States. We will not forget that treachery, and we will accept nothing less than victory over the enemy.

Like the murderous ideologies of the 20th century, the ideology of terrorism reaches across boarders, and seeks recruits in every country. So we're fighting these enemies wherever they hide across the earth.

Like other totalitarian movements, the terrorists seek to impose a grim vision in which dissent is crushed, and every man and woman must think and live in colorless conformity. So to the oppressed peoples everywhere, we are offering the great alternative of human liberty.